“And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.”
King Herod heard about this, for Jesus's name had become well known. Some were saying, John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him — the insertion of Herod's response to Jesus' reputation provides the occasion for the flashback narration of John's death. The speculation about Jesus' identity (John raised from the dead, or Elijah, or one of the prophets) is the first time the various popular identifications are mentioned — identifications that will reappear at Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:28). Herod's specific fear (John raised from the dead) provides the psychological context for the John narrative.
Church Fathers on Mark 6:14
It goes on, 'For His name was spread abroad.'
Here we are taught how great was the envy of the Jews. For, lo, they believe that John, of whom it was said that he did no miracle, could rise from the dead, and that, without the witness of any one. But Jesus, approved of God by miracles and signs, whose resurrection, Angles and Apostles, men and women, preached, they chose to believe was carried away by stealth, rather than suppose that He had risen again.
For John confuted many men, when he said, 'Ye generation of vipers.'
Read all 5 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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